Romney, Mormons, etc.

I am going to get sick if I accidentally hear any goodwill-laced pro-Mormon apologists on the news media, during Romney's campaign. The church has a world-class propaganda/publicity machine, and they are good at getting non-Mormons to testify how wonderful Mormons are and how positive an institution the church is (Southern conservatives saying "even though I don't agree with them I admire this or that about them", etc.)

The LDS church is a relatively new church on the scene, and as such they emphasize a strict, bizarre lifestyle as well as a wacky belief system. Look at Jehovah's Witnesses for a comparison. The cleanliness and wholesomeness of their "look" is not just a coincidence, it is mandatory. Smiling, flawless hygiene, church clothes all-day Sunday, etc. are part of the conformity. They are expected to look that way in heaven too. The whitey-white angel look is as ubiquitous in heaven as dark suits are for missionaries on Earth. And try to get a beer in Utah without navigating through a maze of dumbass rules.

Women are not permitted to be clergy, and Mormon women will tell you they are fine with that. There is only one use for women in the grand, heavenly scheme of Heavenly Father, and I don't have to tell you what it is. I've been told by plenty of elderly women, who have spent their whole lives under the dominion of their husband, that it was OK, that they have enough control in their marriages (I mean, 60, 70+ years of it!) Thing is, though, that has to be voluntarily agreed upon by the husband, because the church is entirely a patriarchical geriontocracy. What if he thinks the man of the house is in charge and his belt will decide any disputes to the contrary? The church loves that kind of 50's morality.

I left because of the church's issues with gay men. Mormons will tell you they don't interfere in politics, but they are lying. They are going to oppose gay rights for a long, long time. Gay men and women who have committed suicide because of the church's hateful, subtle and not-so-subtle policies is blood the church has on it's hands.

The LDS church's distortion of history through the Book of Mormon, Book of Abraham, etc. and their beliefs about Jesus and Jewish people will be a constant thorn in Romney's side, deservedly. There are countless refutations of all Mormon claims to their bizarre fictional view of history both from secular, academic and religious sources. The best ones I find come from Christian churches who are angry Mormons are insisting there is some sort of secret history of both the Jews and Jesus that comes only from their sources and those sources don't appear until the early 1800's. The secular evidence that comes from a lot of these churches is fantastic. As an atheist I was very surprised.

The LDS church is obscenely wealthy (no surprise there), but there are plenty of people who are willing to tell you where that money comes from and where it goes, and it's not to the hands of the needy. That's not really my area of expertise though.

A lot of people don't like the church simply because of the claims of the Book of Mormon. We are about to hear a lot of media defying the call to embrace and fellate the Mormon church, but they will probably be drowned out by non-Mormons anecdotally insisting the church is wholesome and earnest. This is because they have to say that, because the church is watching them and may influence who can keep their job and who can't after it is all over. During Romney's campaign, the LDS church's first big shot at the Presidencey of the United States, the church will be watching who says what, and to whom.

Replies to This Discussion

Really? I think I have yet to meet a practicing Mormon who doesn't support Romney. It might have something to do with the area. I think Mormons are forced to be a little more reasonable sometimes when they live in largely non-Mormon areas, but I'm in the heart of Mormonland.

Any church that believes some random convicted felon magically found golden tablets from "God", transcribed them, and conveniently lost them again is batshit crazy. I find it really funny Joseph Smith's scribe's wife stole his transcripts and he "magically" got new tablets from "God". The 1800's bred a lot of wierd religions like Mormonism, Jehova's Witness' and Seventh Day Adventists. It just goes to show how dumb people can really be. Anybody that believes that nonsense has no business being President of the United States.

Religious belief doesn't necessarily define how good your leadership will be, but Romney has some messed up, typical conservative Mormon views on women, homosexuals, etc. Even if we were to assume that he'd be some awesome job-creating recession-punching wonderman, he'd still take us 10 steps back on civic issues like that. Admittedly, Obama hasn't been the greatest with gay rights, but he does seem to be "evolving" on the issue. We certainly don't need someone pushing "traditional family value" bigotry in the name of "religious freedom".

Let's look on the bright side. Every time that a Christian splinter group rises to prominence, that dilutes the power of the "mainstream" Christians. In the early 20th century, we had the Catholic-Protestant feud. Today we have a most poisonous alliance between Catholics and Evangelicals. With Mormons entering the fray, maybe we'll have the bible-belt good-old-boys going apoplectic with hatred for the "infidels". And for the secular community, that's nothing but good news!

I'm not sure I agree. Belief of their sort is irrational, whether you want to talk about judaism, islam, christianity or L. Ron Hubbard's BS. THEY see belief without proof as a virtue, and they are virtually unanimous in their condemnation of atheism. If they may be said to be united, they are in their irrationality ... and in their hatred of US.

If politics makes for strange bedfellows, I shouldn't be surprised that theism does much the same.

The church has a large centralized government where the rules are the same everywhere. A ward in Paris will feel the same as one in Kuwait, neither of which are free to run how they want. They do it the Salt Lake way which is the ultimate authority.

They have a flat tax system which no complains about. I have never heard anyone say "It is the rich that support the church" or "the top 1% of the members pay 50% of the tithes". That does not include fast offerings or donations which are encouraged and are not "tithe deductible".

Free Agency and the 11th article of faith.

They have a welfare system which includes thrift stores, farms, canneries and employment centers. Members willingly serve and donate on a regular basis. Nor is it uncommon for mormons to brag about how much the church has given in relief funds.

"Visitors Welcome", that includes people of all cultures, languages and races (well, sort of). It doesn't even matter if you're legal or not. And if you can't make there they will come to you.

None of the which sound republican or Romney to me. What am I missing?